Ska-punk may not be the most popular music in a world of MTV pop-punkers and whiny emo bands, but Upstate New York’s Public Access doesn’t give a shit what’s popular. The five-piece group has been refining their approach to hardcore ska punk since their formation sometime in 2000 while attending high school. While they incorporate elements and influences of early hardcore, punk, and ska, it’s tough to fit them into any one of those categories. Public Access have the speed, aggression, and(show more)

Ska-punk may not be the most popular music in a world of MTV pop-punkers and whiny emo bands, but Upstate New York’s Public Access doesn’t give a shit what’s popular. The five-piece group has been refining their approach to hardcore ska punk since their formation sometime in 2000 while attending high school. While they incorporate elements and influences of early hardcore, punk, and ska, it’s tough to fit them into any one of those categories. Public Access have the speed, aggression, and intelligent lyrics of some of the best punk and hardcore bands and have the distinction of being one of only a handful of groups to have a baritone sax-weilding frontman. This sound has earned the group comparisons to Operation Ivy, early Mighty Mighty Bosstones and more recently, “Minor Threat with horns.”

One of the most prominent features of the band is their staunch belief in the DIY mentality. Public Access played a significant part in reviving the long-neglected ska scene in Albany by booking many shows and exposing great underground bands to new audiences.

Over the last six years Public Access has played with over 300 shows with a diverse group of bands. They toured the Midwest in 2004 and have been frequently touring up and down the East Coast ever since then in support. Their 6-song EP, "Fleeced" was released in July by the Seattle-based indie label/zine Pocketful of Change. Since the EP they have introduced a new drummer to the band and have been working heavily on new material along side a busy show schedule....with no "indefinite hiatus" in sight.